Zavurov (35-5-1) hails from Dagestan and won all three of his tournament matchups by decision. He has been a professional for 14 years and has faced top Russian fighters like Rashid Magomedov, Alexander Yakovlev, Khusein Khaliev and Magomedrasul Khasbulaev.

By contrast Barnaoui (17-4) finished all three of his tournament matches with a rear naked choke. He is no stranger to fighting on the road and the Frenchman has spent much of his career competing in Russia.

The winner will face Kwon in May in a Road FC event that is likely to take place in Jeju. The current champion has not fought since 2016 and will be making the first defence of his title in nearly three years.

The fight was announced in the aftermath of Road FC 51 last Saturday. That was the Korean promotion’s final event of 2017 and saw UFC veteran Ham Seo-Hee retain her atomweight title in the main event.